I would like to find out more information on William James Jennings, born June quarter of 1879 (Vol. No. 6d, Page No. 296) in the Aston registration district, Warwickshire, son of James Jennings and Sarah Jane Jennings nee McAdam (At this stage I don’t actually need the info on the birth cert, so have not purchased it yet).
I have other info on William, including finding his family (parents, siblings, uncles, cousins) on the 1841 to 1911 censuses. My main aim is to find present day descendants and relatives of this Jennings family. Below is William and his family from the 1911 census. As you can see, William was a chartered accountant.
1911 Census:- living at 8 Anderton Road, Birmingham, Warwickshire..
Registration District: Aston, Sub-District: Bordesley, Parish: Aston.
Sarah Jane Jennings, head of household, widow, aged 59 years (born 1852) Occupation: Private Means, born Birmingham.
William James Jennings, son, single, aged 32, Chartered Accountant, born Birmingham.
Annie Maude Jennings, daughter, single, aged 33, Elementary School Teacher, born Birmingham.
Lilian Mary Jennings, daughter, single, aged 28, Elementary Assistant Teacher, born Birmingham.
Samuel David Jennings, son, single, aged 26, Draughtsman, born Birmingham.
Jessie Madge Jennings, daughter, single, aged 22, Assistant Teacher, born Birmingham.
As William was a chartered accountant, I thought that this might give me a lead to finding out something on him. I Googled his name and found the following from the London Gazette:
London Gazette dated 22 October, 1946:
www.london-gazette-co.ukNOTICE is hereby given, that the Partnership
heretofore subsisting between William James
Jennings, Edward Perkins Warner and Ernest
William Browell carrying on business as Chartered
Accountants at 75, New Street. Birmingham, under
the style or firm of WM. J. JENNINGS WARNER &
CO., has been dissolved by mutual consent as from
the Ist day of February 1946. All debts due and
owing to or by the late firm will be respectively
received and paid by the said William James
Jennings and Ernest William Biowell. The said
business -will be carried on in the future by the said
William James Jennings, Ernest William Browell
and George Edward Hill.—As witness our hands
this 10th dav of September 1946.
WM. J. JENNINGS.
E. P. WARNER.
E. W. BROWELL.
(140) G. E. HILL.
So I would like to find out something about the accountancy firm
WM. J. JENNINGS WARNER & CO.
Is it still in business? What is presently at 75 New Street Birmingham? It would be wonderful if a photo of the building where the accountancy firm operated could be found! William James Jennings would have been aged 67 in 1946, so possibly he died sometime after that? I would love to find his obituary. I have no idea if he married or had children.
On the various censuses, I have found uncles and cousins of William James Jennings living in Birmingham. Wiliiam James Jennings's father was James Jennings, born 1852 (who married Sarah McAdam in 1873). James had two brothers, (1) William Jennings, born 1849, married Sarah Smith in 1880 and lived 71 Oakfield Road, Balsall Heath in 1901 and 1911 and lived at Yardley, Worcester in 1881.
(2) Samuel Jennings, born 1856, married Ellen Cale in 1882, living 108 Anderton Road, Aston in 1891.
Both these brothers had children. These three Jennings brothers were the sons of Thomas Jennings and his wife, Elizabeth Harwood, who married on 25 December, 1847 at St Phillips Church, Birmingham. Elizabeth Harwood was the daughter of Mary Harwood, ( formerly Taylor nee Harris) and William Harwood.
I am reasonably distantly related to these Jennings but still very keen to find present day descendents (of William James Jennings and also descendents of his siblings and cousins) but I am concentrating on William James at the moment, because of finding the accountancy firm as recently as 1946.
My connection is that Mary Harwood (William James Jennings great-grandmother) was a sister to my great-grandfather, James Harris, born circa 1803 in Birmingham. James Harris was a convict who was transported to Sydney, Australia in 1818 on board the ship “Neptune”.
The three Jennings brothers and their mother Elizabeth were beneficiaries of the Will of William Harris, who was the brother of Mary Harwood and my convict James Harris. William seems to have ended up quite wealthy, he went to Tasmania and owned quite a bit of property there but he returned to England, and was living in Charlotte Street, Leamington Priors when he died in 1869. A Harcourt family of Birmingham who were cousins of William Harris, were also beneficiaries of the Will.
These Jennings at Birmigham had occupations on the censuses that indicated that they were quite comfortably off (probably because of being left property in Uncle William Harris' Will)and still had property. i.e. The occupations included: Annuitant, Private Means, Rent Collector, Property Owner, Living on Own means, Part of Income derived from Property.
Sorry about this very long post! I hope someone can give me some leads to this Jennings family, regards, Aurora.
